


love actually is all around

by BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Love Actually Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, based on a movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 03:45:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8952583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial/pseuds/BeingAPartOfSomethingSpecial
Summary: Arthur has just become Prime Minister, unfortunately for him he has to juggle running the country and falling head-over-heels for the pretty brunette that he is almost certain Morgana only employed to ruin his life.
Just a sweet, happy Christmas story.
(based on David and Natalie's story from Love Actually)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Some of this is taken directly from the Love Actually script because they're just too good so anything you recognise is either Merlin or Love Actually

The car pulled up outside the tall, intimidating building. Intimidating, not for its size but in fact for the power and control that lay behind the solid, black door. The door to the car was opened and Arthur looked out at the rows of photographers. He took a deep breath and climbed out, walking purposefully towards the door and turning as he reached it. He stared out at the flashing bulbs and lifted his hands up to wave. The door opened behind him and he was bustled into the large imposing hallway.

  
"Welcome, Prime Minister," Morgana said shortly, a wicked grin on her face. Arthur glared at her but there was a smile behind it.

  
"I really must work on my wave!" he replied, his mouth quirking up into a smile, showing his crooked teeth. Morgana nodded, tipping her head back and laughing quietly. "How are you?"

  
"How are you feeling?" she shot back, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the long hallway. His voice wobbled as he replied despite him trying to stop it.

  
"Erm... cool? Powerful, possibly?" he tried to laugh it off but the laughter stuck in his throat. "Generally just a bit worried."

  
"Would you like to meet your household staff?" she smiled at him, dragging him further down the corridor. A row of people stood smartly in the centre, a tall man with dark slicked-back hair and a stiff smile and a chubby, cheerful woman with a bright grin. But Arthur's eyes caught on the young man stood at the far end, with dark hair and a wicked grin that reminded him scarily of Morgana's. He was wearing a dark button-up shirt, black jeans and a pair of heavy black boots. Arthur coughed once to clear his throat.

  
"Yes, I would like that very much," he said in a rush, dragging his eyes away from the young man. Morgana smirked at him, her red lips pulled up at one side to show a row of sharp, white teeth like a shark. "Anything to avoid actually having to make any decisions."

  
He heard the young man snort out a short laugh before recovering himself and looking straight ahead. Arthur smiled kindly but the other man ignored him, too focused on the wall in front of him.

  
"This is Agravaine. He's in charge," Morgana's voice was low and conspiratorial as she grinned at Arthur, raising her eyebrows. Arthur smiled at him but the dark-haired man's stiff smile didn't change. His eyebrows arched judgementally and his lips pulled outwards in a grimace.

  
"Good morning, sir."

  
"Good morning. I had an uncle called Agravaine - hate him - pretty sure he tried to kill me. But you seem great!" he said with a grin. Agravaine didn't react and Arthur's grin dropped like a stone. He coughed and moved on quickly to the next person, the chubby, smiling woman wearing an apron.

  
"This is Hunith," Morgana introduced her, smiling softly at her. The lady grinned back; her chubby, red cheeks making her look young and cheerful.

  
"Hi Hunith," he replied, with a bright grin.

  
"Good morning, sir. I'm the housekeeper," she said, her voice was bright and sweet like honey.

  
"Should be easier with me than with the children," he laughed, she chuckled in return. The laughter making her eyes glow. "Or the scary wife."

  
Morgana pulled him onto the next person, the tall, lanky boy dressed all in black and scuffing his boot against the hardwood floor. His dark hair was falling over his forehead, obscuring one of his eyes but definitely not obscuring his rather large ears. Arthur took a deep breath and forced himself to smile brightly, turning to his deputy for the introduction.

  
"And this is Merlin, he's new," she said, squeezing Arthur's arm gently. "Like you."

  
"Hello, Merlin," Arthur's voice was friendly and encouraging even if his hands were shaking and his eyes sliding slowly and inconspicuously down the young man's ridiculously long legs.

  
"Hello, Arthur. I mean, sir. Shit, I can't believe I just said that," Merlin's voice was shaky and completely at odds with his confident smirk. "And now I've gone and said 'shit'. Twice." He covered his face with his hand, peeking through to apologise quietly. Arthur laughed good-naturedly and leant forwards conspiratorially.

  
"It's fine," he said with a glance towards Morgana and a wicked grin on his face. "You could have said 'fuck' and then we'd have been in real trouble." He heard Agravaine gasp but it was worth it to see Merlin's face light up as he grinned back.

  
"Thank you, sir," he replied, laughing slightly. Arthur caught a glimpse of his pink tongue as he did so and nearly missed the next thing that Merlin said. Probably would have if it hadn't elicited a surprised gasp from all the other occupants. "I did have an awful premonition I was gonna fuck up on my first day. Oh, fuck."

  
Morgana coughed politely and guided Arthur away, but not before he saw Merlin squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth.

  
"Let's go fix the country then, shall we?" she said with forced brightness, a snake's smile on her lips. Arthur sighed heavily, allowing himself to be led away and trying not to make his glances too obvious. From the way Morgana stifled her laughter with her hand, he assumed he had failed.

 

  
**************

 

 

Arthur leant back against his chair, shuffling his papers and tapping on the wooden table. "Okay, so what's next?"

  
"The President's visit," Lancelot said, his eyes darting only momentarily to her screen in front of him. Arthur huffed out a breath, this party only worked because people like Lancelot were always on top of things, Arthur is pretty sure that he is only the front man because he has blonde hair and looks good in front of a camera... not that the others don't but that might well be the only thing he can do. Nodding his head at Lancelot slightly, he turned to Morgana sat on his right-hand side.

  
"I fear this is going to be a difficult one to manage. Morgana?"he said, pleading her to keep talking so he could recollect himself. She nodded, a single glance was enough. He knew there was a reason that he had made his half-sister his deputy, and it was not that she employed pretty brunettes to bring him tea and biscuits. Thinking of biscuits...  
"There's a strong feeling in the party that we mustn't allow ourselves to be bullied, like the last government," she said, the assembled cabinet nodded and Arthur sighed shortly. Gwaine's voice broke out.

  
"This is our first proper test. Let's take a stand."

  
Arthur shook his head, tapping against the table again. "I understand what you're saying, really I do. But I have decided... not to. Not this time. We will, of course, be clever but I don't really want to isolate Cenred, America is the most powerful country in the world. I don't want to act like a petulant child."

  
"That's a first," Morgana's voice was barely above a whisper but he glared at her sharply. She rolled her eyes and simply glared back. He turns away from his half-sister and looks back at his friends and fellow politicians. He plastered a false grin on his face and tried to make his voice bright.

  
"Right," he said with a flash of a smirk. "Who'd you have to screw around here to get a cuppa and chocolate biscuit?" Just as he finished talking, Merlin backed into the room, pulling a trolley behind ladened with biscuits and teapots. His treacherous friends laughed out loud and Merlin darted a worried look at Arthur, his eyebrows furrowing adorably. Arthur shook his head at him, mouthing 'nothing, don't worry' across the room.

 

 

**************

 

  
There was a loud knock on the door and Arthur sighed heavily. "Come in Merlin," he said, not looking up from his laptop. "But please do try to knock slightly more quietly."

  
"One minute you're nagging me for not knocking and now you're nagging at me for knocking too loud," Merlin said as he dropped a wad of paper on the desk beside Arthur's arm. "What'd you want me to do?"

  
"Knock," he replied. "Like a normal person."

  
Merlin huffed and clattered the plate of biscuits onto the desk, a couple bouncing off and landing on the floor at Arthur's feet. The Prime Minister looked down at them before looking up at Merlin and sighing heavily, shaking his head. The young man turned to leave. Arthur coughed, holding up the papers Merlin had dropped unceremoniously.

  
"And these are...?" he paused, waiting for Merlin to catch on. The other man made a show of thinking deeply, touching his chin and furrowing his eyebrows before grinning brightly.

  
"Work it out!" he laughed, turning to leave once more. When he reached the door, he glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes catching on Arthur's. "I was hoping you'd win. I would've been nice to the other guy, just would always give him the boring biscuits." Arthur let out a short laugh, nodding to him and smiling.

  
As soon as Merlin had left, Arthur let his head drop on the desk. "You're the Prime Minister, for god's sake," he mumbled to himself. "He's not even good at his job."

 

 

**************

 

 

The next time Merlin came to drop his tea and biscuits in, Arthur stopped him from leaving with a light cough.

  
"Ummm, Merlin," he began; the other man took a couple of steps forward until he was stood level with the desk. "I am starting to feel.. uncomfortable about us... erm, working in such close proximity every day and me knowing so little about you."

  
Merlin let out a relieved breath that he had been holding since Arthur had said his name. "There's not really much to know," he said self-deprecatingly.

  
"Well, erm, where do you live, for instance?" he asked, feeling slightly like a creepy old man but shaking his head to rid himself of that image.

  
"Ealdor, the dodgy end," Merlin replied with a grin, Arthur smiled back, it was infectious. When Merlin grinned, his eyes crinkled at the edges and his mouth opened wide, giving Arthur another flash of that pink tongue.

  
"Which exactly is the dodgy end?" he said; his voice brighter now, more cheerful. He picked up the plate of biscuits and offered one to Merlin, the young man politely refused and Arthur rolled his eyes. "Go on, you look like you need it." Merlin took a biscuit.

  
"Umm, Camelot Street, near the Rising Sun," his voice was quiet, almost embarrassed. Arthur grinned brightly.

  
"Ooh, that is dodgy," he said with a wink, before he flinched. Merlin just giggled, higher than the laugh of before but no less lovely. "And you live with... your wife? Girlfriend? Three illegitimate but charming children?"

  
"No," he paused. "I've just split up with my boyfriend actually, so I'm back with my mum for a while."

  
"Boyfriend?" Arthur said, his voice sharp as he tried to sound surprised rather than interested. Merlin nodded and bit his lip gently.

  
"Yes sir," he replied, not looking at Arthur. "Is that going to be a problem?"

  
"Not at all," Arthur said quickly, hardly allowing Merlin to get the words out. "I'm sorry though, about your boyfriend."

  
"Nah, it's fine. I'm well shot of him," Merlin said, the bright grin back on his face and his piercing blue eyes trained back on Arthur's. "He said I was too skinny and that my ears were too big."

  
"I beg your pardon?" Arthur said, shocked, his eyes quickly flicking to Merlin's slim waist and slender hips. Whilst maybe the comment about his ears wasn't too far off the mark, they only served to make him seem even more endearing. Merlin's bright grin turned to a sad smile.

  
"He said no one'd fancy a bloke as scrawny as me with ears like satellite dishes," he replied, slowly and carefully as if it was something memorised. "Not a nice guy, actually, in the end."

  
Arthur coughed politely to clear his throat before he attempted to speak. "Right... you know, erm... being Prime Minister, I could have him murdered," he said dryly, trying not to reveal the real anger he felt at anyone hurting this lovely young man.

  
"Hah, thanks sir," Merlin replied, the sadness in his smile dropping away. "I'll think about it."

  
"Do. The Knights are absolutely charming. Ruthless, trained killers are just a phone call away." Merlin nodded shyly, murmured his thanks and turned to leave. As the door swung shut behind him, Arthur dropped his desk onto the desk once more, sighing heavily and bemoaning not only his own existence but also the existence of pretty brunettes with bright grins and large ears.

 

  
**************

 

 

"Mr President, welcome," Arthur said, holding out his hand only to have it over-enthusiastically pumped by and down by a grinning American, though the smile was clearly fake for the camera and underneath it was clear that he would rather be anywhere else.

  
"A pleasure to meet you," he drawled, his false grin never dropping as he turned towards the press. Arthur turned with him and tried to smile but was hit by how uneven and how utterly British his teeth were... no pearly whites for him, just years of braces that hadn't actually made a bit of difference.

  
"Come on through," he ushered the President into the house, leading him to the meeting room. "It's a shame that your wife couldn't make it Cenred."

  
"She would have been kinda lonely, I'm sure," the President returned, Arthur rolled his eyes at the attempted slight and sat down in his chair at the head of the conference table.

  
"I've never been able to tie anyone down," he said in a low voice, make him underestimate you and maybe you can get what you want. "I'm not sure politics and dating really go together."

  
"Really?" the other man asked, sitting down at the opposite end of the table. "I've never found that."

  
"Yes, well, the difference is that you're sickeningly handsome," he paused for effect. "Whereas, I look increasingly like my Aunt Catrina."

  
He heard a low laugh from the doorway as Merlin walked in with tea and biscuits. "Ah, Merlin. Hi," he said with a smile other the President's shoulder. The other man craned his head over his shoulder to look at the new arrival, a low whistle emitted from his mouth at the sight of Merlin leaving.

  
"My god, that's a pretty little son of a bitch," he said admiringly, Arthur's eyes narrowed and he grimaced at the other man. "Did you see that arse?"

  
"Yes, he's terrific," Arthur started. "At his job."

  
The President laughed as other people began to file to the meeting room, taking their seats. Morgana on his right-side and Lancelot on his left. The meeting began and Arthur was instantly engaged.

 

  
"No, absolutely not," an American voice rang out. "We cannot and will not consult on that either."

  
"That is," Morgana paused to gather her thoughts. "Unexpected."

  
"Well, it shouldn't be," the President's voice joined the fray. "The last administration made it perfectly clear. We are just being consistent with their policies."

  
"With all due respect _sir_ ," Morgana's voice held a steely edge as she spat the words out. "They were _awful_  policies."

  
"Right, well, thanks Morgana. I don't think we're making progress here," Arthur interrupted before the President could say anything in return; the last thing he needed was his deputy to get angry. "Let's erm... move on, shall we?"

  
The meeting went on like that, with Cenred refusing to compromise on anything, regardless how small.

 

 

"Well, now, that was an interesting day," Arthur said as he sat down on the sofa in the drawing room. The President sat opposite him and smiled the same false smile from before, a snake's smile.

  
"I'm sorry if our line was firm," he said, his eyes narrowed and trained directly on Arthur's. "There's no point tiptoeing around today, and then just disappointing you for four years. I have plans and I intend to see them through."

  
"Absolutely," Arthur replied, aiming his own false smile back at Cenred. "There is one final thing I think we should look at, something very close to my heart. If you could just give me a second."

  
"I'll give you anything you ask for," the other man said with a wink and a smirk. He continued just as Arthur pulled the door open. "You know, as long as it's not something I don’t wanna give."

 

Arthur returned a few moments later clutching a folder in his hand. As he pushed the door, he was met with an awful sight. Cenred was stood close to Merlin, chests pressed together and mouths only inches apart. The President held a small sprig of mistletoe above their heads and Merlin was blushing madly.

  
"Ahem," Arthur coughed to alert them of his presence. "Hi."

  
Merlin sprang away from the other man, his blush deepening even further as he avoided Arthur's eyes. "I'll, umm… I'll be going then."

  
As he scurried away, Cenred caught his wrist. "Hey Merlin, I hope to see much more of you as our countries work towards a better future."

  
"Thank you, sir."

 

 

**************

 

 

If there was one thing about being in politics that Arthur did like, it was public speaking. The feeling of standing in front of hundreds of people and making a speech filled him with a sense of power and a belief that if he could do this then he could do anything.

  
Glancing at the rows of press and important people, he smiled warmly. His eyes flicked to the man stood next to him, the President of the United States. _'Good luck,'_ he thought _'You're gonna need it.'_

  
"Mr President, has it been a good visit?" one of the members of the press asked, a small weasel-like man named Peter from the Times.

  
"Very satisfactory indeed," the President began. "We got what we came for and our special relationship is still very special."

  
"Prime Minister?" the same young man asked. Arthur took a deep breath and composed himself.

  
"I love that word 'relationship'. Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it?" he started, a quick glance towards Cenred allowed him to catch a glimpse of the man's ridiculous mask falling. "I fear that this has become a bad relationship. A relationship based on the President taking _exactly_ what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country but we're a _great_ one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that. And a friend who bullies us is _no longer_ a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward, I will be prepared to be _much_ stronger. And the President should be prepared for that."

  
Cendred's smile had transformed fully into a glare as he turned his eyes on Arthur. Arthur merely smiled warmly in return.

 

 

**************

 

 

"Umm, Morgana, my dearest sister, my wonderful deputy and organiser of my life," Arthur began. Morgana scoffed and raised one perfectly-shaped eyebrow at him.  
"What do you want brother-mine?" she said with a sly smirk. Arthur took a deep breath.

  
"Don't ask me why, and don't read stuff into this, it's just a weird personality thing," his voice wobbled and he coughed to disguise it. "But, erm, you know Merlin that works here?"

  
"The scrawny boy?" Morgana asked. Arthur blanched, and hissed a breath out between his teeth.

  
"Ooh, would we call him scrawny?" he said diplomatically. Morgana shrugged, still grinning wickedly.

  
"I think there are some pretty scrawny arms there, yes, sir," she said with a wink. "Huge ears!"

  
"Yeah, well, whatever, erm... I'm sure he's a lovely young man but I wonder if you could, erm... redistribute him?"

  
"It's done."

 

 

**************

 

 

Arthur picked up the first Christmas card in the pile that Morgana had left on his desk. They all had varying messages of wishes for a 'Merry Christmas' and one notably one that simply told him 'not to fuck up' which he still thinks was from either Gwaine or possibly his father.

  
The next card he pulls out has his name scrawled on it in a very familiar hand. It is the writing that he often saw on post-its stuck to his important files telling him where they'd come from, what they were about or simply to smile. He tore the envelope open and opened the card. A shower of silver glitter tumbled onto his grey suit trousers and he just laughed. He began reading, a soft smile drifting onto his face as he imagined it in Merlin's sweet, bright voice.

  
_"Dear sir, Dear Arthur, Merry Christmas and I hope you have a very happy New Year. I'm very sorry about the thing that happened. It was a very odd moment and I feel like a complete clotpole. Particularly because - if you can't say it at Christmas, when can you, eh? - I'm actually yours. With love. Your Merlin."_

  
"Oh bugger," he dropped it onto the desk and stood up. "Agravaine, I need a car. Right now. Thank you."

  
He barrelled out of 10 Downing Street and into the waiting car. "I'd like to go to Ealdor, the dodgy end."

  
"Very good, sir," the driver said. "Camelot Street."

  
As they reached it, it dawned on Arthur that he had no idea _where_ on Camelot Street Merlin lived. The dreaded question came from the driver.  
"What number, sir?"

  
Camelot Street can into view in front of him, it seemed to stretch for miles away from him. "Oh bugger, it's the longest bloody street in the world and I don't have a bloody clue."

He knocked on one of the doors, it opened slowly and a little old lady stood in the doorway brandishing a walking stick.

  
"Oh, umm, hello, does Merlin live here?" he asked politely, already knowing the answer.

  
"No."

  
"Right, fine, okay," he stumbled out. "Sorry to disturb."

  
"Aren't you..." she started, then shaking her head. "You aren't the Prime Minister, are you?"

  
"Er, yes," he replied. "In fact, I am. Merry Christmas. Part of the service now, trying to get round everyone by New Year's Eve."

 

He tried at a few more houses, even having to sing a carol for a cluster of small children before they'd let him leave. Finally, he knocked on a door and it was opened by a pretty young woman, who told him that whilst Merlin didn't live there, he did live just two doors down. Arthur thanked her profusely, shaking her hand in both of his.

  
"Are you Arthur?" she asked. He nodded, confused. "Because he honestly hasn't shut up about you for months, it's slightly sickening but mostly just lovely to see him so happy about someone after the last arsehole that broke his heart."

He knocked on the door and waited. The opened slowly, revealing Merlin dressed in pyjamas and clutching a massive mug of hot chocolate. Arthur smiled softly and took in the glorious sight of sleepy-Merlin, his hair sticking up at all angles, his blue eyes glowing and his lips turned up in a slow, sleepy smile.

  
"What're you doing here?" he asked, his voice quiet and soft. It was like being wrapped up in a warm blanket, safe and away from the world.

  
"I got your card," Arthur replied, smiling gently and stepping forwards into the house. He nodded over his shoulder at the driver who winked at him and started the engine. Merlin closed the door behind him.

  
"I really am sorry Arthur," rushed out of his perfect mouth. "I didn't want to, but it was the President of the United States and can you really say no to the President of the United States?"

"Yes Merlin," Arthur said, touching the back of his hand gently against Merlin's cheek. "You can say no to anyone. The President. The Prime Minister. Anyone."  
"What if I don't want to say no to the Prime Minster?" he asked, leaning into Arthur's hand, and sighing gently.

"Then say yes," Arthur replied, his voice barely audible as he leant even closer to Merlin, breath dancing the younger man's lips as he curled his hand around his cheek. Merlin's hands tangled in Arthur's scarf, pulling himself up and mumbling 'yes' against the softness of Arthur's lips, melting completely into the older man's arms.

"Merry Christmas, Merlin," Arthur's voice was soft and loving as he spoke, he was so much more than a simple _'Merry Christmas'_ , it was _'I forgive you'_ and _'I understand'_ and _'never leave me'_ and _'please forgive me'_. It was _'I love you'_.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur," Merlin's reply meant all of that, and more.


End file.
